


The Angel and The Lazy Cat

by businessghost



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fluff, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, minor spoilers for Blood of Olympus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:38:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2432423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/businessghost/pseuds/businessghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a collection of fluffy Nico/Will drabbles. No particular correlation except a strong sense of adorableness!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt: write about a pairing with 1 of them cooking dinner but its shit and the other totally taking the piss

Nico di Angelo is good at many things. Commanding skeletal armies, shadow traveling, mythomagic. Cooking is _not_ one of those things. This is what Will Solace discovers when his boyfriend attempts to make a pasta dish from his long-passed childhood.

It’s called Agilo e Oilio, and it is, to Will’s understanding, just olive oil on spaghetti. He had previously thought it would be impossible to screw up such a simple dish. But he was so very wrong.

He had walked into the small apartment above New Rome’s only bar. It was small, dingy, and about as cheap as possible. But those were just the usual problems, and Will had become accustomed to them. The newest problem was the smell of burning rubber that permeated the little space. He stepped cautiously into the living room, wondering if some child of Vulcan had broken in to… microwave their sandal?

He crept into the kitchen and was met with the sight of a disgruntled Ghost King standing over a large copper pot, cursing and prodding at a mysterious food item. He decided to approach the subject delicately.

“So, Angel, do you know why it smells like Professor Mosby’s wig is on fire in here?”

“ _Cazzo_. _Uscire dalla mia cucina, stronzo!_ ”

Ah, so maybe he wasn’t as delicate as he should have been. Will still didn’t know a lot of Italian but he know that when Nico slipped back into his native tongue he was upset. He also knew what the words for “fuck” and “asshole” were.

                “Hey now, no name-calling! What are we trying to do to my poor stove, here?”

                Nico heaved a sigh. “Well, _Sunshine_ ” he started, making the name into an insult, “I was _trying_ to make _Agilo e Oilio_ , when a big giant with stupidly nice hair walked _right into_ my kitchen and insulted his own dinner.”

                Will cracked a smile. “Aya oya, huh? Sounds fancy.”

                Nico harrumphed a little, struggling with what Will could now see was a solid block of spaghetti. Will stood behind Nico, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s middle and nestling his chin on his wiry shoulder. “I take it back, it looks great.”

                “Don’t lie to me, Will. I can feel your pulse speed up, moron.”

                “Wherever did you get the recipe for this?”

                “My mom used to make it when I was a kid. I helped her sometimes.”

                Will decided to stop making fun of the dish after that. He stepped away from Nico, stretching his arms high in the air. “Well, as long as you’re making dinner for once, I can’t wait.” Nico waved him out of the kitchen without so much as turning around, jabbing uselessly with the spoon as Will went to take a shower.

                At dinner Will Solace made his grand discovery: Nico couldn’t cook for shit. The noodles were both rubbery and burnt, the olive oil was somehow spoiled, and the garlic bread was mostly still frozen. But he smiled at his boyfriend anyway, choking down more mouthfuls than, as a healer and pre-med student, he could really recommend for anybody, human or demigod. Nico himself barely ate anything, wringing his hands and looking shyly up at Will from underneath his dark lashes.

                “So…” he began, in a nervous tone that was very out of character, “How is it?”

                “It’s great, Nico!” He smiled brightly “I love the flavor of the, um, raisins?”

                Nico mumbled “They were bell peppers…”

Oooh. Smooth, Solace. Smooth. “That’s what I meant to say! Duh! Sorry, Angel.”

Nico huffed out a little breath “It’s okay Will, I know it sucks. It’s just, you work so hard in class and _then_ you make dinner. I wanted to do something for you…” He looked away, “and it’s my mom’s birthday, and I wanted to do something for her too.”

Will smiled at Nico. He swatted him lightly on the arm. “You’re a big softie, di Angelo. Your mom would be proud to know her son invented a way to do what the rest of the world thought was impossible.” Confusion showed plain on Nico’s face. “You know, burn pasta!”

And the melancholy around the table evaporated as Nico began to laugh, Will holding tightly to one hand as he joined in. And then there was a mysterious _sound_. Both men turned and watched, in horror, as chunk of gooey, rubbery spaghetti peeled off the ceiling, where Nico’s fork had launched it. The slimy pasta landed right on Nico’s meticulously groomed head.

Later the two of them lay on their secondhand couch, cuddled together around the strange green stain on the middle cushion. Will leaned down and kissed Nico on the cheek. The son of Hades gently pulled Will towards him and a fire lit in Will’s belly. Nico di Angelo was good at many things, and kissing was one of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nico discovers that Will doesn't know how to drive. And he has an excellent plan to remedy this.

It didn’t catch Nico’s attention at first. He just thought Will was being healthy. After all, he was a healer, and they say you’re supposed to walk 10,000 steps a day. But, as Argus drove them to their date at the nearest movie theatre Nico began to have his suspicions.

                Both boys stepped out of the camp’s van with burning cheeks, especially as Argus honked the horn twice at them before driving off. Nico knew that Will had recently turned 17, so he risked a question.

                “Will… Do you know how to drive?”

                The son of Apollo blushed even deeper.

                “Really?” Nico was surprised. Will was ADHD and dyslexic, but he was also a fast learner and his reflexes were as keen as a taut bowstring.

                “I’m kind of scared, I guess. And it’s harder than he looks!” he protested defensively.

                Nico dropped the topic, but as they sat down for their movie ( _The Revival 2_ ) a plan started to form in the son of Hades’ mind, and he smiled wickedly into the darkness.

                And that was how, three weeks later, they ended up barreling down a New Jersey highway with Will driving, a zombie riding shotgun, and Nico holding on for dear life in the backseat.

                Will swerved wildly to the left and Jules-Albert chittered disapprovingly. Nico was recalling his Catholic upbringing, under the logic that praying to more than one pantheon wouldn’t hurt.

                “What’s he saying?” asked Will through gritted teeth.

                “He’s telling you to ease up on the-!” they hit a bump so hard that Nico had to stop talking or risk biting the tip off his own tongue. “Gas.” He finished lamely.

                The car slowed gradually. And it kept slowing. And slowing. They were crawling along in the Black Van they’d “appropriated wisely” from Octavian’s forces over a year ago. The drivers of New Jersey were not appreciative of this change in pace. A chorus of horns that sounded distinctly annoyed rose up behind the nervous demigods.

                Jules-Albert’s desiccated head thumped forward onto the dashboard in a clear gesture of defeat.

                Hesitantly Nico ventured, “Maybe you should go a little faster, Will.”

                And suddenly they roared back to Mach 3. “Solace!”

                “What?!”

                “How can you be so bad at this?!”

                “Well, it’s easy to criticize when _you_ aren’t driving, di Angelo!” Will took a deep breath, he wasn’t finished, “I don’t even have a license! If I get pulled over all I’ll have is a Zombie in the passenger seat and a grumpy old man in the back!”

                Nico could not _believe_ what he was hearing. He was just trying to help! Who did Will think he was talking to?! Nico probably would’ve slipped into a nice brood, but, as it was, he didn’t get the opportunity. As he was preparing to fling back a snappy comment Jules-Albert let out a preternatural screech.

                Nico looked up in time to see the car heading towards the woods on the sides of the road. They were close enough that he could see the bark on the tree trunks. In desperation Nico closed his eyes and concentrated on the shadows cast by the tall pines. He felt a tugging sensation in the pit of his stomach and a fuzzy feeling in his head as the entire car melted into shadows.

                They fell through the darkness, and Nico brought them to the very first place that came to mind, the park where he and Bianca had spent days before coming to Westover Hall, all the way in Washington DC.

                The car landed with a soft thump next to the sand box, scaring away the squirrels and pigeons roosting on the jungle gym.

Before Nico passed out he thought “I hope we didn’t scratch the paint; Mr. D will kill us.”

When Nico finally stirred he was sitting next to Will on a park bench. The setting sun was glinting off his hair, and he looked unfairly cute, especially given that Nico still wanted to sulk about his yelling earlier.

“Hey, Angel” said Will. Using pet names? That shameless bastard.

Nico didn’t respond.

“I’m sorry I was yelling at you, Nico. I’m really a bad driver.”

Nico snorted. “Yeah. You’re never driving anywhere again. Speaking of drivers where is Jules-Albert?”

Totally straight-faced Will said “He’s picking up McDonalds.”

Oh sure, send the zombie-man to pick up dinner. And then he was struck by horrible nostalgia. McDonalds. Nico already felt close to Bianca here, but this reminded him of her even more.

“So, Angel, why did you take us all the way to DC?”

“It was just the first place that came to mind, I guess.” said Nico, hoping Will wouldn’t probe.

“Huh” said the son of Apollo, disbelief showing clearly on his face. “Well it’s an awfully nice park.”

Nico smiled a little bit. He was glad that Will let it go. He didn’t really want to share about his sister. It still hurt, especially because he couldn’t contact at all.

Will picked up on his mood. He squeezed the younger boy’s shoulder. “Well, you know what?”

“What?”

“I’ve always wanted to see the capital. Do you wanna check out the Lincoln memorial? I heard he was a son of Athena.”

He shrugged, watching as Jules-Albert walked over a gently rolling hill, carrying a white bag full of gloriously greasy fast food.

“We can go.” He decided, “But we are definitely taking the bus.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever brought a significant other over to have dinner with your family? Embarassing, right? What if your family was the eternal Lord of The Dead and his bitter kidnapped goddess of a wife?

There’s awkward, there’s mortifying, and there’s taking your boyfriend to have dinner in the underworld with your godly father and stepmother.

                It started with an iris-message form Persephone herself. Nico had been in the shower at the time.

                A beautiful woman with silky tan skin and hair as dark as freshly turned earth appeared in the steam collecting on the bathroom mirror. “GAH!” screamed Nico.

                “Well that’s no way to greet a goddess.” Sniffed Persephone.

                “Oh I’m sorry, Lady Persephone. What the hell is _your Highness_ doing in my shower?!” He snapped, yanking the shower curtain across his body.

                “I have been… instructed… by my lord Hades to invite you and your _consort_ to dinner in my palace.”

                Nico must’ve misheard, “You’re inviting me and my boyfriend to dinner in Erebos?”

                “Well, it wasn’t _my_ idea. But my lord seems to think it is what a proper family would do.” She looked condescendingly at Nico’s shower-curtain skirt. “And try to wear something nice.” The image of the goddess vanished from the bathroom, leaving the ghost king shivering in a shower that had long gone cold.

                Nico found Will at the basketball courts, playing two on two with some of his siblings. He stood awkwardly at the edge of the court. Nico felt totally at home with Will, sure, but around his brothers and sisters? Not really. He got a little lost in staring at his boyfriend. The morning sun sparkled off his skin, and with his hair mussed and his breathing heavy he was very distracting.

                At last, Will noticed him. His smile was blinding, “Hey, Neeks.” He ignored some of his cabin mates as they snickered at the nickname.

                Nico shook himself back into the moment. ‘Will you come with me to the sword fighting arena? I’ve gotta talk to you about something.”

                He looked slightly concerned as he put down the ball, following Nico to the arena. The two boys sat together in the stone seats. Swallowing his doubts, Nico said, “We need… to have dinner at my father’s palace”

                Will laughed, relieved, “You scared me, Nico! I thought it was going to be something way worse!”

                “Something worse? What could be worse than dining with the god of death?”

                “You should see the look on your, face Neeks! It’s not like Dionysus just picked up and went to an AA meeting!”

                “So you’re okay with having dinner in Erebos? That’s not weird?”

                Will leveled a child-of-Athena cynical look at his boyfriend. “My father fell in love with, not one, but three, different plants. Having dinner with your step-parents isn’t weird.”

                “They’re the God of the dead and the goddess of springtime. They have zombie waiters.” noted Nico.

                “Okay. It’s a little weird.” Conceded Will.

                6 hours later, as Nico sat at an obsidian dining table across from his 10-foot tall father, he decided that Will was dead wrong. It was _totally_ weird.

                Nervously, Will attempted conversation. “This is a lovely… brain? My Lord.”

                Persephone huffed irritatedly, “Lord Hades did not cook this meal. It is _my_ creation.”

                Taking this information in stride Will began to banter with Persephone “Well, My Lady, you have to tell me how you came up with it! I’ve never heard of country-fried brains before!” Hopefully no one but Nico saw the nervous bead of sweat roll down the back of his boyfriend’s neck.

                “Finally! Someone appreciates my culinary artistry, it’s so different with Mother here…” The goddess of springtime’s words faded into background noise as Nico locked eyes with his father. He tried silently to communicate his discomfort.

                Hades’ raised eyebrow conveyed “ _You don’t like it?”_

                _“No! Who would?”_

_“Maybe more grateful children would. I cannot disappoint my queen now!”_

_“She’d be delighted if we left!”_

Nico couldn’t translate what Hades said next, seeing nothing more than a wild series of blinks and eye rolls, as if the god was having an epileptic fit.

                The Lord of The Dead sighed and spoke aloud instead, cutting off Will and Persephone’s fascinating conversation about the finer points of organ based Louisiana-down-home cooking.  “Of course not. She _invited_ you here.”

                Persephone pouted. “You weren’t supposed to mention it, Lord!”

                “I’m sorry, darling. They know now.”

                Will clicked his fingers under Nico’s nose. “Hey, Neeks. Snap out of it. Shut your jaw.”

                Nico followed Will’s direction, closing his mouth, which had been hanging open in shock.

                The goddess of springtime blushed, glancing rather sheepishly at Nico. “I thought, perhaps, that having you two for a meal might help us… mend things” she said, trying to smile, although it looked more like the grimace of a zombie waiter than anything else.

                Nico nodded and swallowed hard, too stunned to do anything else.

                Luckily, Will was a smooth talker, “My lady, if things weren’t already peaceable between you two, then this Waldorf apple salad would surely bring you together-”

                “Eris’ apples of discord!” proudly interjected a mummified servant, “picked ‘em myself!”

                Will’s lips puckered around the apple, his normally tan skin turning a pale, sour green. He choked down another piece and continued, “But I think it’s unnecessary. As Nico has already told me, there is nothing to forgive.” He looked over to his boyfriend, eyes pleading. _Just agree with me. I can get you out of this._

                “Y-yeah,” stammered Nico. “It has been too many years to hold a grudge against you, my lady.” He was surprised to find he meant it. Bianca had warned him about the fatal flaws of children of Hades, but he felt no bitterness towards his step-mother.

                Hades grinned hugely, which made him look even more like a maniacal villain in a cheap movie. Rubbing his hands together he delightedly said, “Well, who’s up for desert? And then, perhaps, a game of charades?”

                Okay, so there’s awkward, mortifying, taking your boyfriend to have dinner in the underworld with your godly father and stepmother, and _then_ there’s playing charades with them


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saw a prompt on Tumblr about person A of the OTP teaching person B how to smoke. I felt Will would be a good teacher.

Will’s knees were pressed up against Nico’s as they tried to simultaneously face each other and sit in Will’s car, Lucille. They were allowed to take the car and go off camp grounds for just one night, because Will had told Chiron that he needed Nico by his side to heal coma patients at a nearby hospital. Maybe it wasn’t Will’s job to heal mortals, but nobody denied him the chance. Nobody would dare.

                He was close enough that Nico could smell the minty toothpaste on his breath, and the lemongrass soap on his skin. It was like the boy radiated sunshine; he even smelled like it.

Will looked up at Nico through his long blond lashes. “Are you nervous, angel?”

“No.” Will cocked an eyebrow. That was an obvious lie. “Okay. Yes. Maybe. What if we get caught?” The words tumbled out of his mouth.

“We won’t, Angel.”

“How do you know that? And how are you so calm, anyway? And…” Nico trailed off, realizing. “Wait. Really? You already did it without me?!”

Will tried to scoot closer to Nico, and now Nico could see it. How his eyes were dilated, how his smile hung a little slack around the corners of his mouth. He leaned in, whispering, even though it was imperative that no one was around. “I promise, if we do it, it’ll be fine. It’s fun, Neeks. But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” And Nico could see how honestly he meant that. He was under no pressure. Will would wait forever or drop it the minute Nico asked. It was written all over his open face.

Nico found himself whispering back, with his face close enough to Will’s that only his blue eyes were in focus. “I do. I want to try it.”

Will’s smile spread wide across his cheeks, and Nico imagined sunlight shining out of him, warming up the chilly car. He settled back and reached into his backpack, pulling a plastic bag full of little paper rolls. They looked innocuous enough. And yet, Nico’s heart hammered against his ribs. “You hang out with the Hermes kids too much.” He commented, trying to distract himself. “They’re bad influences.”

Will snorted, pausing to answer Nico, “Hey, it’s not my fault that you spend all your time hanging around Goody-Two-Shoes Grace. Aren’t you supposed to be some badass child of the Big Three?”

Nico blushed, murmuring, “There’s nothing wrong with hanging out with Jason. He’s cool.”

“Yeah, he is.” Will smirked and pulled out a blunt, “But he doesn’t know everything.”

Nico intervened again, “Aren’t you some kind of health nut?”

“Hey, I study all kinds of medicine. This could be medicinal for all you know.”

“Breathing smoke into your lungs doesn’t seem that beneficial to me.”

“Didn’t they think cigarettes were healthy back in your day, Grandpa? They used to sell them to kids.”

“They did not!” exclaimed Nico.

“Oh?” said Will, “And how old did you have to be to buy cigs? 10?”

Nico blushed, looking down at his hands twisting in his lap, “the legal age was 12.” he mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Will looked at him with an equal mixture of frustration and affection. “I promise it’s not nearly as bad for you. Do you want to go first, Angel?”

“I- I’m not sure…” hedged Nico

Will’s gaze softened further. He reached out a hand to touch Nico’s cheek. “I’ll show you how.”

He pinched the paper with his forefinger and thumb and placed it between his lips. The spicy smell of the drug permeated the air between them, drowning out Will’s scent. He held his lighter up to the end of it, and as it began to smolder he breathed in deeply. His eyes fluttered closed, and he held his breath in for an impossibly long time. To Nico, the seconds passed like hours. Finally, he breathed out, letting greenish gray smoke curl out of his mouth. He breathed in deeply, and passed the blunt to Nico.

Nico watched from afar as his own fingers, pale and trembling, took the makeshift cigarette. The end still glowed dimly, and he swallowed back his fear, putting it in the corner of his mouth, and sucking in all the smoke he could manage. He held the smoke in his mouth, while Will watched, his head tilting to the side in confusion.

“Nico, are you… holding that in your mouth? It’s not a cigar, babe. You have to breathe all that in.”

Nico exhaled, letting the smoke billow out from his lips.

Will smiled patiently at him. “Here,” he said, re-lighting the end, “try again.”

This time, Nico breathed deeply, and it felt like the fire was racing inside him. He was sucking flames into his lungs where they would flare on the little bit of oxygen there and splutter out. But he didn’t stop. The feeling was too unique. He could taste spicy sage and clementines and flavors he’d never imagined on his tongue. His virgin lungs could hold on no longer. He snatched the blunt from his mouth and stabbed it towards Will as he began coughing. His eyes watered as his body desperately tried to eject the suffocating smoke.

Will smiled proudly, “Now _that_ was a real hit. I don’t know anybody who hasn’t coughed their first time. That’s how you know it’s working.”

Nico blinked, trying to get rid of the tears welling up behind his eyelids. He gently put a hand to his heart. His heart rate had slowed already. “I think it _is_ working” he ventured cautiously.

Will sucked in another hit, and, without warning, leaned in to kiss Nico, his open mouth spilling out vapor. With their lips locked together the feelings were intensified. His limbs tingled, his head swam. He smelled smoke and sage and _Will_.

Will broke away, and Nico slumped against Lucille’s door, his breathing heavy. “Woah.”

“I know, angel.” said Will, searching for his hand on the seat. “I can teach you more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back, back again.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more sporadic drabbles to come! Stay tuned!


End file.
